Gmat Reading

By Randy Paes

For most people gmat reading comprehension is the toughest section to show improvement on. The problem is that there is no universally accepted resource on gmat reading. Most test prep companies teach students to make outlines of the passage or even skim the passage. Both these approaches are neither practical or efficient. We must read the entire gmat passages to understand them. The truth is most people are simply reading the incorrect way. Most people suffer from three bad habits that we must absolutely eliminate to get better at reading. These include:

• fixation- Fixation is the when you focus only on one word . However, the human mind is capable of reading a group of words.


• rereading- Rereading is going back over a section or sentence because of a lack of understanding caused either by lack of confidence or lack of concentration.


• sub vocalization- This is probably the hardest learned behavior to break. Sub Vocalization is silently repeating the word in our head when we read it.

To do well on gmat reading comprehension students must balance reading speed, comprehension, and recall. The best way to get better at each of these categories is to practice them in isolation. For example, we can use our finger to focus our eyes to improve speed. Next we would focus on exercises that improve comprehension and recall. If we can break these bad habits and improve these skills we will be able to read at the speed we think not the speed we talk.

Randy is the author of the 800 gmat blog and is currently working on his MBA.